A New Strategy to Elevate Absorptivity of AIEgens for Intensified NIR-II Emission and Synergized Multimodality Therapy.

High-efficiency absorptivity is crucial for the construction of high-performance luminescent materials, especially the long-wavelength near-infrared II (NIR-II) materials; thus seeking an efficient and universal strategy to elevate the absorptivity is extremely important but is still an intractable challenge. In this work, a simple but efficient design strategy is discovered, involving the introduction of gold(I) unit that could effectively elevate the absorptivity of aggregation-induced-emission luminogens (AIEgens). As a result of the efficient elevation of absorptivity, the representative AIE-active TBTP-Au shows more superior NIR-II (1220 nm) luminescence, much higher photothermal conversion efficiency, and unique intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generating ability compared with that of the TBTP ligand. Taking advantage of these improvements, the fabricated tumor-targeting TBTP-Au-cRGD nanoparticles achieve specific NIR-II tumorous imaging in vivo and exert high-efficiency cancer therapy via the synergistic chemotherapy and photothermal therapy. Thus, this work provides a new and efficient strategy to construct high-absorption luminescent materials and demonstrates the great potential of gold(I)-based AIEgens as multifunctional theranostic agents.

[Mechanism of Yanghe Decoction against subcutaneous tumor in pulmonary metastasis from breast cancer through HIF-1α signaling pathway regulating glycolysis:based on network pharmacology and animal experiment].

This study aims to explore the mechanism of Yanghe Decoction(YHD) against subcutaneous tumor in pulmonary metastasis from breast cancer, which is expected to lay a basis for the treatment of breast carcinoma with YHD. The chemical components of medicinals in YHD, and the targets of the components were retrieved from Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform(TCMSP) and SwissTargetPrediction. The disease-related targets were searched from GeneCards and Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man(OMIM). Excel was employed to screen the common targets and plot the Venn diagram. The protein-protein interaction network was constructed. R language was used for Gene Ontology(GO) term enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG) pathway enrichment. A total of 53 female SPF Bablc/6 mice were randomized into normal group(same volume of normal saline, ig), model group(same volume of normal saline, ig), and low-dose and high-dose YHD groups(YHD, ig, 30 days), with 8 mice in normal group and 15 mice in each of the other groups. Body weight and tumor size was measured every day. Curves for body weight variation and growth of tumor in situ were plotted. In the end, the subcutaneous tumor sample was collected and observed based on hematoxylin and eosin(HE) staining. The mRNA and protein levels of hypoxia inducible factor-1α(HIF-1α), pyruvate kinase M2(PKM2), lactate dehydrogenase A(LDHA), and glucose transporter type 1(GLUT1) were detected by PCR and Western blot. A total of 213 active components of YHD and 185 targets against the disease were screened out. The hypothesis that YHD may regulate glycolysis through HIF-1α signaling pathway to intervene in breast cancer was proposed. Animal experiment confirmed that the mRNA and protein levels of HIF-1α, PKM2, LDHA, and GLUT1 in the high-and low-dose YHD groups were lower than those in the model group. YHD has certain inhibitory effect on subcutaneous tumor in pulmonary metastasis from breast cancer in the early stage, which may intervene pulmonary metastasis from breast cancer by regulating glycolysis through HIF-1α signaling pathway.

ß-CD-Induced Precipitation of Eriochrome Black T Recovered via CTAB-Assisted Foam Fractionation for Adsorption of Trace Cu(II).

In order to remove and reuse the ecotoxic dye Eriochrome black T (EBT) from dyeing wastewater, we used a process called cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB)-assisted foam fractionation. By optimizing this process with response surface methodology, we achieved an enrichment ratio of 110.3 ± 3.8 and a recovery rate of 99.1 ± 0.3%. Next, we prepared composite particles by adding ß-cyclodextrin (ß-CD) to the foamate obtained through foam fractionation. These particles had an average diameter of 80.9 µm, an irregular shape, and a specific surface area of 0.15 m2/g. Using these ß-CD-CTAB-EBT particles, we were able to effectively remove trace amounts of Cu2+ ions (4 mg/L) from the wastewater. The adsorption of these ions followed pseudo-second-order kinetics and Langmuir isotherm models, and the maximal adsorption capacities at different temperatures were 141.4 mg/g at 298.15 K, 143.1 mg/g at 308.15 K, and 144.5 mg/g at 318.15 K. Thermodynamic analysis showed that the mechanism of Cu2+ removal via ß-CD-CTAB-EBT was spontaneous and endothermic physisorption. Under the optimized conditions, we achieved a removal ratio of 95.3 ± 3.0% for Cu2+ ions, and the adsorption capacity remained at 78.3% after four reuse cycles. Overall, these results demonstrate the potential of ß-CD-CTAB-EBT particles for the recovery and reuse of EBT in dyeing wastewater.

Yanghe Decoction Suppresses the Experimental Autoimmune Thyroiditis in Rats by Improving NLRP3 Inflammasome and Immune Dysregulation.

Inflammation is an important contributor to autoimmune thyroiditis. Yanghe decoction (YH) is a traditional Chinese herbal formulation which has various anti-inflammatory effects. It has been used for the treatment of autoimmune diseases such as ankylosing spondylitis In this study we aimed to investigate the effects of YH on autoimmune thyroiditis in a rat model and elucidate the underlying mechanisms. The experimental autoimmune thyroiditis (EAT) model was established by thyroglobulin (pTG) injections and excessive iodine intake. Thyroid lesions were observed using hematoxylin and eosin (H and E) staining and serum TgAb, TPOAb, TSH, T3, and T4 levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay IL-35 levels were evaluated using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Th17/Treg balance in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) was determined by flow cytometry and RT-PCR. Changes in Wnt/ß-catenin signaling were evaluated using Western blot. Immunofluorescence staining and western blot were employed to examine NLRP3 inflammasome activation in the thyroid. YH minimized thyroid follicle injury and decreased concentrations of serum TgAb, TPOAb, TSH, T3, and T4 in EAT model. The mRNA of IL-35 was increased after YH treatment. YH also increased the percentage of Treg cells, and decreased Th17 proportion as well as Th17/Treg ratio in PBMCs. Meanwhile, the mRNA levels of Th17 related cytokines (RORγt, IL-17A, IL-21, and IL-22) were suppressed and Treg related cytokines (FoxP3, TGF-ß, and IL-10) were promoted in PBMCs. Additionally, the protein expressions of Wnt-1 and ß-catenin were unregulated after YH treatment. NLRP3 immunostaining signal and protein levels of IL-17, p-NF-κB, NLRP3, ASC, cleaved-Caspase-1, cleaved-IL-1ß, and IL-18 were downregulated in the thyroid after YH intervention. Overall, the present study demonstrated that YH alleviated autoimmune thyroiditis in rats by improving NLRP3 inflammasome and immune dysregulation.

Polymeric Nitric Oxide Delivery Nanoplatforms for Treating Cancer, Cardiovascular Diseases, and Infection.

The shortened Abstract is as follows: Therapeutic gas nitric oxide (NO) has demonstrated the unique advances in biomedical applications due to its prominent role in regulating physiological/pathophysiological activities in terms of vasodilation, angiogenesis, chemosensitizing effect, and bactericidal effect. However, it is challenging to deliver NO, due to its short half-life (<5 s) and short diffusion distances (20-160 µm). To address these, various polymeric NO delivery nanoplatforms (PNODNPs) have been developed for cancer therapy, antimicrobial and cardiovascular therapeutics, because of the important advantages of polymeric delivery nanoplatforms in terms of controlled release of therapeutics and the extremely versatile nature. This reviews highlights the recent significant advances made in PNODNPs for NO storing and targeting delivery. The ideal and unique criteria that are required for PNODNPs for treating cancer, cardiovascular diseases and infection, respectively, are summarized. Hopefully, effective storage and targeted delivery of NO in a controlled manner using PNODNPs could pave the way for NO-sensitized synergistic therapy in clinical practice for treating the leading death-causing diseases.